Wednesday, 14 November 2012

We
are where we are. Few really want a city mayor, still less want a
Police & Crime Commissioner (I love that title.... which gets
commissioned first?). But in 48 hours will have one of each, so we
might as well limit the damage by voting to minimise the damage.

Or
even to really change the face of Bristol for the better.

First
choice for mayor – Daniella Radice, of course. Uniquely,
she offers a clear manifesto, strong commitments to neighbourhood
democracy, to equality, and to a green city, plus an honest
commitment to reduce cuts. Not forgetting my favourite... a real
interchange at Temple Meads.

It's not a wasted vote, either; if the
unlikely doesn't happen (though sometimes it does), there's always
the second preference vote.

Mine
goes to George Ferguson. Some doubts
– there's little commitment to equalities, a suspect
over-reliance on market forces, and promises of neighbourhood
democracy are very vague. But those are over-ridden by a freedom
from party dependency, by a broad commitment to green issues, by an
impressive track record – and by being less bad than the rest!

Marvin Rees might have got that second vote
but for being so deeply bound into Labour Party structures and
expectations to the exclusion of all and everyone else. Geoff Gollop was never in the running for me
because of the company he keeps, and ex-Doctor JonRogers.... well, even apart from his
loyalty to the party that lets this government claim a mandate to do
what it does, who wants a mayor who treats the residents as gullible
idiots, as so much of his publicity
does?

For
PCC, Pete Levy gets my first vote. His
comprehensive manifesto shows he's thought it through, and his
priorities and values look both right and realistic. Pity about the
LibDem party label.

The
others seem much of a muchness, all offering similar platitudes that
will offend no-one. So Sue Mountstevens gets the second vote,
simply because she's independent of party ties.

Monday, 5 November 2012

Yes,
they're back again. Developers Robert Hitchin have applied to build
close on 300 houses in the three fields that still separate
Whitchurch village and Stockwood. Just the
same houses as were refused by BaNES last year! Presumably they
think the political climate's better now.

Sunday, 4 November 2012

The
Bus Rapid Transit route that will bring north Somerset commuters from
the Long Ashton Park and Ride into town by a different route, didn't
start that way. Originally it was part of an ambitious new network
that would traverse the city. BRT2 itself was to continue right
through to Emersons Green by commandeering the Bristol-Bath cycle
path for the its north-eastern leg. It was also intended to be a
substantially different form of transport, using guided bus ways and sufficiently unlike a bus to attract drivers to make the switch from cars to public transport.

All
that fell to pieces, of course. First with the successful defence of
the cycle path against the encroachment of 'rapid' buses; then with
the forced budget cuts that the Department of transport insisted on
(the cuts were, of, course, in the government grant. The local
contribution actually went up to £15 million plus extras). The latest change is to (perhaps)
revert to a rather more eco-friendly bus instead of the diesel
bendy-buses that have been the first choice up to now, and to fiddle
a bit with the route at Temple Meads.

In all, the current scheme is
a very different animal from the original, except in the route it's
to take from the Park and Ride into the city centre.

So
it's legitimate to ask what it's actually for now.

The
official answer seems to be that the government has offered some
money towards it. That's a bit like going into a posh shop, seeing a
very expensive item that you have no use for with a big “70% OFF!”
price tag, and finding the offer irresistible. Then, after paying,
finding there are many more built in costs than you bargained for.
And it's not something you ever wanted anyway, and now you've got to
find more money for the things you really need.

Another
part of the downside is the despoilation of the popular waterside
walks and rides along the New Cut and the Harbourside, as tarmac and
diverted buses take over from the Create Centre to the M-Shed.

Benefits?
We're told that the BRT2 will clip a minute or two off some
journeys into town – though that will depend heavily on budgets,
frequencies and, of course, on choice of destination. It could do
the same for all the other buses from north Somerset that will be
diverted onto the same route instead of coming through Hotwells and
Anchor Road. And it will free up bits of the Cumberland Basin
highways from some of those buses, in turn encouraging more
private traffic, including all the extra that will be brought by the
new South Bristol Link Road. Don't expect improved traffic flow
there, then!

It's
that South Bristol Link Road that probably explains why BRT2 (pretty
pointless in itself even for its sole beneficiaries, the north
Somerset commuters) is still on the table.

Ripe for development - the S Bristol Link Road route

The
Link Road (read 'Ring Road') really is a money-spinner. It's key
to developing the Green Belt to the southwest of the city, just as
was proposed in the Regional Spatial Strategy with the enthusiastic
support of land speculators and builders. The airport expansionists
have been lobbying hard for it. But it would never win funding
unless there was a veneer of 'sustainability' about it.

That's
where another of the rapid transit routes comes in.

This
one follows the alignment of the South Bristol Link Road, and wraps
it in a 'sustainable public transport' label. Nobody's really fooled of
course... everyone knows that if you want to invest in a useful
rapid transit system, a link between Hengrove and Ashton Vale will be
near the bottom of the wish-list. But the promise of these vehicles
on the new road gives planners and politicians in Bristol and London
the excuse they want to build a road, opening up the green belt.

To
give this BRT link a bit of added credibility (because predicted passenger
figures prove it would be nowhere near economic, or even socially
necessary, or accessible to most potential passengers) the route has
to do more. That's where BRT2 comes in, providing that essential
link to take the South Bristol Link BRT on into the city, albeit by a
tortuous and time consuming route that makes nonsense of the word
'rapid'.

If
BRT2 should be abandoned, there's an inescapable knock-on effect on
the South Bristol Link BRT, which would lose any shred of credibility
that it might still retain. And if that BRT gets abandoned in turn,
it removes the sole figleaf of 'sustainability' that covered the
destructive potential of the Ring Road.

Friday, 2 November 2012

From November 5th, Stockwood's other bus route into town will
be pared right down. Abus is cutting the daytime frequency of its 57
service, via Bath Road. Peak services will remain, but after that
it will be every hour at best, with a much longer gap in inward
journeys during the afternoon. The new timetable is
here.

It's
bad news for Stockwood, because for years Abus have offered a far cheaper trip into
town than the exorbitant single fares on First's 54 service, and the
only short access to the eastbound bus corridor along the Bath Road,
toward Keynsham and Bath.

One
contributory factor must be the national concessionary fare pass.
For pass holders, fare differentials are not an issue, so First's
more frequent buses have been able to draw more custom than they
deserve, especially in the off-peak hours.

For those travellers
who do have to pay, First have the economies of scale that allow them
to offer more attractive deals like the First Day tickets. They've
also looked after their own monopoly interests by resisting, for
years, any attempts to launch similar city-wide tickets that are valid on
services operated by other companies. And, in a mini 'bus war' when Abus were
running the 57 service on Saturdays, First ran so many buses on the
alternative 54 route that the smaller Abus couldn't command the
passenger share to keep their buses running.

Thank
you, Mrs Thatcher – and all the administrations of every colour
that have followed in your footsteps.

About this Blog

This one's from the little known Bristolian outpost of Stockwood, first settled by city expats back in the fifties. Leafy, open, and close to the countryside.... until they grub up the Green Belt and open spaces to build an 'urban extension'.

Written by an adoptive Stockwoodsman, arrived from the wild north-east back in 2004, this blog sets out to look at Stockwood and Bristol issues, mostly from a green perspective